HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UPPERCRUST!

India’s delectable food and wine magazine celebrated its 10th anniversary with a panache that only editor and publisher Farzana Behram Contractor could lend to it. The Blue Sea, Sunil Kapur’s charming banquet hall on the waterfront at Worli Seaface was witness to happiness and exuberance as never seen before. It was as much to do with the kind of people gathered there as to the wide array of food put out by Chef Sanjay Malkani and his team. It was Indian regional cuisine at its best. More than 40 of the editor’s favourite dishes made it to the menu, all served in gleaming copper pots.

The guest list was eclectic. They were not just friends and well wishers of Farzana, but also of our beloved Busybee, the late Behram Contractor, whose name kept popping up in conversations all through the evening. We are not really surprised. It’s Busybee Forever!

The huge wall to wall and floor to ceiling collage of all the UpperCrust covers over ten glorious years was the background of the bar and a had guests gasping at the energy it created. It also had many gleefully pointing to themselves up there!

There was singing and dancing to a live band. Gary Lawyer couldn’t resist, he took the mike... and Astad Deboo the floor and the night rocked on. An evening which began at 9 pm only ended at 2 am, when the last of the guests drove off, reluctantly. Party pictures in Guest List on pages 178 to 187.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOUR HOLINESS

Off and on, over the years, give or take three decades, we have seen and met His Holiness, Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin on different occasions and become more and more enamoured by the simplicity exuded by him, among the most pious of men on earth.

It was like-wise recently, when Syedna turned 99. We were honoured to be invited for his birthday celebrations which took place at his residence at Malabar Hill in Bombay. Saifee Mahal was brimming with activity. Fairy lights twinkled in the trees and the delicate fragrance of roses filled the air.

We waited too, along with the immediate family members in a private enclosure, just outside the elevator. The emotions of those gathered there were palpable. When Syedna did step out of the lift, ever so slowly, glancing gently around with his kindly eyes, a delicate wave of the hand, there was a hush.

Soon he was guided and helped into the elegant palanquin which was carried on the shoulders of his loving followers to the beautifully decorated stage, where a sea of humanity awaited with bated breath.

The ceremony lasted half an hour and before long Syedna was carefully carried back to the elevators which took him to his chambers.

And then the rejoicing started. A sumptuous Bohri, five course meal, served in thals. Of course we partook in it. Sitting on the floor, with the beautiful women of the family who were attired in colourfully embroidered burkhas, enjoying the meal as much as their refined company.

May Allah grant His Holiness a long and healthy life and may we be present at his 100th birthday celebrations being planned to be held in Karachi.

FRUIT CARVING

Fruit carving is an art which requires immense practice and patience. The visual treat it offers is a delight.The creativity involved is immense, for there can be as many designs as a person’s fantasy and skill. The fruit carvers who worked to please the Royalty in Thailand are testimony to that fact. With the right tools and guidance one can easily learn how to carve.

What we find more fascinating though is egg carving, if that is the appropriate term at all. Here the skills tested would be even higher. Anyone who has ever touched an egg shell will tell you so. The thought of the delicacy required to handle an egg shell gives us the jitters. But just look at the results.

So this summer UpperCrust recommends the above two, to those looking for a new hobby. Who knows it could be a hobby with business potential.

EGGSHEL

These egg shells were cut with a high intensity precision laser beam. This gives one a very good idea of what can be achieved with a laser beam. From this can be surmised what laser surgery performed on one’s eye is all about. Is it any wonder how one’s vision can be improved in just a few moments? Science is sometimes wonderful, and it’s still on the frontier of gaining new knowledge.

Incredible what can be done with an eggshell and a laser beam.